Keep Mother and Baby TogetherIt's Best for Mother, Baby, and Breastfeeding

Healthy Birth Practice 6: Keep Mother and Baby Together - It's Best for Mother, Baby, and Breastfeeding.Adapted from The Official Lamaze Guide: Giving Birth with Confidence.

Experts now recommend that right after birth, a healthy newborn should be placed skin-to-skin on the mother’s abdomen or chest and should be dried and covered with warm blankets. Any care that needs to be done immediately after birth can be done with your baby skin-to-skin on your chest. As midwife Ina May Gaskin says, you’re entitled to "keep your prize."

Download the Lamaze Healthy Birth Practice Paper, available in eight languages, to learn what the research says about the importance of early, continuous contact with your baby after birth.

Learn some tips for establishing breastfeeding in the early days and weeks.

Visit the Baby-Friendly USA Web site to learn about the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and to locate a Baby-Friendly hospital or birth center.

Watch a video to see the benefits of keeping your baby with you after birth.

It’s a day you’ll mark with cake and candles in the coming years—the day that you finally get to meet your new baby! You’ve waited many months for this moment, and spent considerable time thinking about how it will unfold.